Definition of Operating system

Babylon English
operating system
apparatus which enables the operation of a device; main program in a computer which is responsible for the allocation of resources to its various procedures

Search Dictionary:
Search Web Search Dictionary



Operating System definition was found in categories: Computer & Internet(6)  Language, Idioms & Slang(3)  Science & Technology(3)  Encyclopedia(1)  

Operating System Definition from Computer & Internet Dictionaries & Glossaries

FOLDOC
operating system
<operating system> (OS) The low-level software which handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to

Jargon File
operating system
n. [techspeak] (Often abbreviated `OS') The foundation software of a machine; that which schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user between applications. The facilities an operating system provides and its general design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up around its host machines. Hacker folklore has been shaped primarily by the Unix , ITS , TOPS-10 , TOPS-20 /TWENEX , WAITSCP/M , MS-DOS , and Multics operating systems (most importantly by ITS and Unix).

A Glossary of Internet & PC Terminology
Operating System
The Software that is responsible for running the PC , control & utilisation of the hardware & Peripherals Examples include:-
 DOS 
 UNIX 
 WINDOWS 95

Multimedia Glossary
operating system
a program, OS, that lets the computer control its own operation; this program's major task is to handle the transfer of data and programs to and from the computer disks

Jensen's Technology Glossary
Operating system
The master control software system that serves as a foundation for applications software. Examples of past, present, and forthcoming operating systems include MS-DOS, Amiga DOS, Windows, Windows 2000, Windows Chicago, Windows Cairo, OS/2, Workplace OS, Apple/Mac Systems 7 and 8, Taligent (Pink), PowerOpen, NEXTStep, Rhapsody, Unix, SCO, AIX, HP/UX, HP/MPE, SCO Open Desktop, Solaris, and UnixWARE (Novell). A second class of operating systems is known as real time processing. These are used more for on-the-fly control systems such as aviation control systems and military applications. Examples include the Intel Multibus and iRMX operating systems. For a comparative analysis of the 32-bit options, see PC/Computing Special Report (1994) where it is concluded that there are advantages and drawbacks of each option and no clear optimal choice at this juncture in time. For 10 years, Apple Corporation would not license its proprietary Mac operating system to other manufacturers. However, in 1994 Apple announced that it would license its System 7 operating system to other vendors on PowerPC computers. In 1997, plans for Copeland and Gershwin upgrades were abandoned in favor or Rhapsody. Apple's hopes are riding heavily upon the evolution of a new operating system called Rhapsody that is a revolutinary operating system based upon NEXTStep technology. This may help to overcome the problem that Apple Corporation's market share has declined to less tan 5% of the desktop computing market and an even smaller percentage of the laptop/notebook computer market. The new licensing agreement is designed to cut into the huge market share of Windows operating systems from Microsoft Corporation. However, Microsoft Windows still remains the market share choice. Then along came Linux to challenge the Microsoft's operating systems.  Linux (pronounced Leenicks) is a freely-distributable implementation of UNIX that runs on a number of hardware platforms, including Intel and Motorola microprocessors. It is very popular among computer scientists who have freely given their time to develpment of Linux.  AThe Linux home page is at http://www.ssc.com/linux/ .  (See also Cross-platformAmigaWindowsDOSWindows CairoWindows ChicagoWindows 2000MacAlpha processorMozartCopelandGershwinNativeOS/2Wintel, and Rhapsody.)

Apple Corporation's operating system for its Mac OS X servers is called "Darwin."  Apple announced that it will make the Darwin source code available to developers.  It is a variant of UNIX.

Glossary of Computer and Internet Terms
Operating System
Also known as an "OS", this is the software that actually communicates with computer's hardware. Without an operating system, all software programs would be useless. The OS is what allocates memory, processes tasks, accesses disks and peripherials, and acts as the user interface. With an operating system, like the Mac OS or Windows 98, developers can write to a common set of programming interfaces (known as APIs) using the operating system to talk the hardware. Without an operating system, programmers would have to write about ten times as much code to get the same results. Of course, there are people who have to program the operating system itself...


Operating System Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries

WordNet 2.0
operating system

Noun
1. (computer science) software that controls the execution of computer programs and may provide various services
(synonym) OS
(hypernym) software, software system, software package, package
(hyponym) DOS, disk operating system
(part-holonym) platform
(part-meronym) supervisory program, supervisor, executive program
(classification) computer science, computing

hEnglish - advanced version
operating system

operating system
n : (computer science) software that controls the execution of computer programs and may provide various services [syn: os]




Concise English-Irish Dictionary v. 1.1
OS
operating system: córas oibriúcháin


Operating System Definition from Science & Technology Dictionaries & Glossaries

Telecommunication Standard Terms
operating system
An integrated collection of routines that service the sequencing and processing of programs by a computer. Note: An operating system may provide many services, such as resource allocation, scheduling, input/output control, and data management. Although operating systems are predominantly software, partial or complete hardware implementations may be made in the form of firmware. (188 )

Technical English by wpv
Operating System
A collection of programs that controls the overall operation of a computer and performs such tasks as assigning places in memory to programs and data, processing interrupts, scheduling jobs and controlling the overall input/output of the system.

Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems
Operating System
software that controls the execution of programs and provides the necessary services to do so. (Hornung )


Operating System Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries

Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia
Operating system
An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. An operating system processes system data and user input, and responds by allocating and managing tasks and internal system resources as a service to users and programs of the system. At the foundation of all system software, an operating system performs basic tasks such as controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing system requests, controlling input and output devices, facilitating networking and managing file systems. Most operating systems come with an application that provides a user interface for managing the operating system, such as a command line interpreter or graphical user interface. The operating system forms a platform for other system software and for application softwareLinux and Mac OS (or any other BSD-derivative) are popular UNIX-like operating systems.

See more at Wikipedia.org...